The Avengers: Movie Review

I've been holding off on this review for months now, because I was going to wait for the Blu-Ray release and just do it all as one big review, but I've finally decide against that. Screw it! This is my Avengers review.

Basically what you need to know is that this movie is AWESOME! There's so much awesome in this movie that I'm surprised one movie could contain it all. Anyway...on to the actual review. The Avengers is based on the comic book of the same name, that features multiple characters from all over the Marvel Universe. The movie uses Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Thor for obvious reasons. This movie is tied to all the previous Marvel Studios movies before it. Their goal is to create a giant Marvel Cinematic Universe, and each of their movies has been an addition to that. The good thing is you don't have to watch any of the previous films; which include: Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger. If you haven't seen any of those films you should though because they are all good in their own way. Iron Man 2 is my least favorite of the bunch.

I digress; The plot of the Avengers is Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is angry about the way thing turned out at the end of Thor, and has decided to obtain the Cosmic Cube (which is called the Teseract in the movie, but I'm going to continue to call it the Cosmic Cube). With the Cosmic Cube he will be able to obtain an army of space aliens that will help him invade, and attempt to conquer the Earth. Who better to stop him then Earth's Mightiest Heroes?

The only problem? Earth's Mightiest Heroes don't get along, and don't really want to. They don't know a whole lot about each other, and have to find a way to come together to stop Loki and his treacherousness. This is where Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. come in.

The movie is paced very well, and each actor reprises their role from all the previous movies stated above. Joss Whedon who wrote and directed the movie did a great job of giving each character enough screen time,  as well as enough time for us to feel an emotional bond to each one of the characters and what they going through as individuals. The only exception being Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) we don't get to see a whole lot of him doing his thing until the very end of the film, but it's actually well worth the wait. I guess my only complaint being I wish I got to see more out of him. Black Widow (Scarlet Johannson) does a great job of playing a super bad ass spy turned Avenger, and actually had more screen time then I thought she would. We also get to see a side of her relationship with Clint Barton (Hawkeye) that I didn't expect Whedon to include in the final version of the film.

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) returns with his fan favorite portrayal of the Armored Avenger, and he doesn't disappoint. The fight scene in the woods featuring the "Big Three" is enough to make any fanboy squeel with excitement, and the constant back and forth between Captain America (Chris Evans) throughout a large part of the movie is satisfying. It evokes memories of the Civil War mini series Marvel did a few years ago, but that's not to say the franchise will head in that direction. Which brings me to Captain America who I adore. Chris Evans' portrayal of Cap in this movie is a lot different than in Captain America: The First Avenger. You see him as more of the leader, veteran, combat expert, and overall great character I know and love. Plus he's a man still trying to learn how to cope in a world that he knows nothing about, and basically the only family he has is the Avengers.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) does another great job playing "The Son of Odin". Thor also has a lot of over the top action scenes in the movie which makes sense because he's a god. Point being, he's in a lot of visually stunning scenes that are very entertaining. Now it's time for the Bruce Banner/The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). The Hulk has a couple scenes in this movie that made me want to jump out of my seat and scream in excitement! I'm not a huge Hulk fan but there's something about him in this movie that just brings him back to his glory days, and just makes you want to be the Hulk again. Joss Whedon should be commended for what he was able to bring to the table with this character. Especially since the supporting cast of super heroes is so strong.

The Big Three

I also want to take a second to talk about Tom Hiddleston playing Loki because it is close to the best performance in this movie. I still haven't decide which performance I enjoyed most yet so it's still up in the air, but he does such a good job at playing just that crazy, evil, comic book bad guy that we all love to hate. If watching Loki in this movie doesn't make you love him for being so mischievous then something is wrong with you!

The thing about The Avengers, is that it has done what no comic book movie ever has before; it makes you feel like you're watching a comic book come to life. Now, there has been great comic book movies, and good comic book movies, and down right bad ones, but none of them have ever had the feel of this movie. Seeing all the Avengers assembled for the first time made the nerd in me want to cry from happiness. There are so many scenes in this movie that feel so much like my Avengers comics have come to life in my hands! The Helicarier scenes, the woods scene I mentioned before, almost every shot in the movie. The dialogue feels like it's ripped straight from the page, some of the angles Whedon uses look like a comic book panel.

The Avengers, just feels so good. When you sit down to watch it you have a smile on your face, and all throughout the movie you'll still have that same smile. I've seen it five times, and each time I had the same smile all the way through. The characters play off each other so well, the action is well choreographed, and spread out enough so that the movie never feels boring. Even when you are watching the characters sit around and talk you are entertained. Everyone has such good chemistry, and the action is over the top which fits so well with these characters and the setting. It's true there are some emotional spots as well, but even those instances still feel just like a classic comic book.

This is everything I've been waiting for in a movie based on a comic property, and I can't wait for the Blu-Ray release. This is my favorite movie of this year, maybe even of all time, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store. Avengers 2 is gonna have some big shoes to fill...

          Author: Dillon